The invention concerns devices and methods for changing abrasives for honing as well as a correspondingly designed honing tool. In particular, the invention concerns exchange of short honing stones that provide only a reduced quantity of honed product per service life. The smaller the number of honed products per service life (short service life), the more frequently the honing stones must be exchanged; all the more important are short tool changeover times in this context. In this context, the invention may be used for conventional honing tools for cylindrical bores as well as for honing tools for non-cylindrical bores in the context of form honing.
In the honing operation used up to now, tools with short honing stones that are preferably used for form honing but also conventional honing tools with comparatively longer honing stones are regenerated and prepared for further use in a complex regenerating process. In this context, first the diamond honing stones, with or without steel blank, are soldered or glued onto a support strip and then mounted again in the same tool body.
The thus prepared honing tool serves as a grinding device for the subsequent cylindrical grinding process of the honing stones. During cylindrical grinding, the honing stones are straightened in longitudinal direction and the required radius of curvature that corresponds to the radius of the bore to be honed is reground. Subsequently, demounting of the honing stones is required in order to roughen them at the work surface that has been dressed by cylindrical grinding. Roughening means that bonding is to be recessed so that raised abrasive crystals are made available.
In any case, the original tool is however required in order to regrind/dress the honing stones. This process is described in G. Flores, Grundlagen and Anwendungen des Honens (translation: Principles and Applications of Honing), Vulkan Verlag, Essen, Germany, 1992, pages 82ff.
In addition to a great process-technological expenditure, this procedure of conventional regenerating of honing tools requires a relatively great number of constructively identical and expensive sister tools. Only then it can be ensured that at least one finish-regenerated tool is always available in order to enable a quick tool exchange with minimal downtime of the honing machine.
It is the object of the invention to simplify processing (regenerating) of honing tools and to greatly reduce the number of honing tools required for a honing spindle. These demands apply mainly to form honing because here, as a result of the special honing process, the honing stones are very short, the abrasive volume is minimal, and the service life or number of honed products are thus significantly lower in comparison to conventional honing of cylinder bores.